***Rugby Super League XXVI (other RL chat welcome!)***

[JRS]

Wigan shoring things up for next season and beyond.

Shaun Wane: Wigan Warriors appoint England boss to head up coaching staff as Lee Briers also joins.

 

[JRS]

*excitement intensifies*

Really hoping Catalans can do it. But mostly hoping for a match that isn't decided by the refereeing.

 

[JRS]

are you going to the game?

Nope. Going to watch the beIN stream, French overexcited commentary is infinitely preferable to the ****s that Sky use!

 

[JRS]

Well, the refereeing has in fact been bloody appalling. St Helens getting away with murder. Situation normal.



***edit***

I hope St Helens are happy winning like that. I'm not sure I could be.

 

[JRS]

What was the big decision that gifted the win to Saints?

Three stood out for me.

The first - Makinson took out Yaha at head height as Yaha was going over for a try. This somehow didn't result in a penalty try...but was a yellow card for Makinson? How does that even work?

The second - whatever the BS penalty call was that handed Saints the set of six needed for the try that took the lead. The beIN commentary was utterly bemused.

The third - how that try stood when the Saints player quite clearly had elbows on the ground before grounding the ball. The beIN commentary moved from bemused to incensed.

Plus the smaller calls here and there. Dinging Tomkins for incorrect play of the ball when a St Helens player had Sam's head trapped between the Saints player's knees after a tackle. Obstructions off the ball going un-noticed. One St Helens pass that was so far forward it ended up in a different postcode. I don't expect refs to be perfect, but maybe we could try for better?

I hope whoever's ref'ing the Toulouse-Fev match today does.

***edit***

Oh, another decision/lack thereof that stood out - how did Mata'utia not get a card for throwing a punch at Maloney? You can argue the toss with some of the decisions last night but I think we can probably all agree that punching a guy warrants a look at???

 

[JRS]

Catalans have signed Mitchell Pearce, two years with an option for a third.

Bienvenue aux Dragons

 

[JRS]

Adrian Lam, meanwhile, is off to coach Leigh and try to get them back into SL.

*chortle*

 

[JRS]

Dylan Napa and now Tyrone May complete Catalans' recruitment drive.

Statement of intent.

 

[JRS]

2022 Dragons squad names and numbers

https://twitter.com/x/status/1471042409324847114

 

[JRS]

Nearly a perfect season:

I hope St Helens are ready. They might find that they have, to paraphrase a WW2 Japanese admiral, awoken a dragon and filled it with a terrible resolve

 

[JRS]

@TonyM19 - I'm a bit torn over it. One the one hand, there are a lot of un-/under-vaccinated players in RL and the last thing the sport needs is another season trashed by COVID. On the other hand, if they don't want to get vaccinated then they have to accept the consequences of their damn silly actions.

Unless they have genuine grounds for not getting it (better than Djokovic's ) then the teams shouldn't pay the dappy sods...

 

[JRS]

Is someone setting up a new thread for the new season or are we staying here?

I'll sort a new one out.